With the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials quickly approaching, TSN.ca will profile one men’s team and one women’s team each day before the first rocks fly on Nov. 22 at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
Team John Epping
Lineup
Skip: John Epping (Age 42)
Third/Vice-Skip: Jacob Horgan (25)
Second: Tanner Horgan (27)
Lead: Ian McMillan (34)
Alternate: Patrick Janssen (38)
Coach: Jim Wilson
Curling Club: Northern Credit Union Community Centre in Sudbury, Ont.
2025-26 Season
Events: 8 Record: 31-11 World Ranking: 6th
Highlights: Team Epping won the Shorty Jenkins Classic in mid-September with a perfect 8-0 record and a 6-3 win over world No. 3 Team Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland in the final. Overall, Team Epping has qualified in seven of eight events, including all three Grand Slams.
How They Qualified
Qualified after being the highest unqualified team on Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) following the 2024-25 season.
Trials Schedule
Nov. 22 – Matt Dunstone
Nov. 23 – Mike McEwen
Nov. 24 – Brad Gushue, Rylan Kleiter
Nov. 25 – Brad Jacobs
Nov. 26 – Kevin Koe, Jordon McDonald
Expert Analysis from TSN’s Russ Howard
Team Epping will have a successful week at the Canadian Curling Trials if...
“They bail early when an end isn’t looking promising and if they limit the amount of hero shots.”
Team Story
John Epping is set to compete in his fifth straight Canadian Olympic Trials.
The 42-year-old played second for Wayne Middaugh at the 2009 Trials before skipping in the past three, producing a combined 8-22 record without a playoff appearance.
The 2025 Trials might be Epping’s best chance at making a run after playing maybe the best curling of his career over the past calendar year.
Epping’s men’s career was in a bit of a lull following the 2023-24 season. The Toronto-based skip hadn’t qualified for a Brier or the playoffs at a Grand Slam event in three seasons, playing with numerous lineups along the way.
Ahead of last season, Epping made the decision to shake things up and curl out of Northern Ontario with a Sudbury-based team, featuring the young and talented Horgan brothers, Jacob and Tanner.
Epping and company won five events on Tour before an undefeated run at the Northern Ontario playdowns to punch their ticket to the Kelowna Brier. The foursome had a great week at the Canadian men’s curling championship, posting a 6-2 record and just missing out on the playoffs after losing the tiebreaker to Team Reid Carruthers.
A win at the Shorty Jenkins Classic earlier this year and three Grand Slam playoff appearances has helped Team Epping jump up to No. 6 in the world and third in Canada.
They’ve been a very busy team overall in 2025-26 with playoff appearances in all but one of their eight events. Epping posted a 3-1 record at the PointsBet Invitational, the one bonspiel they didn’t qualify for due to its difficult format.
Team Epping own an 8-3 record against Trials teams.
If Epping’s rink continues to play the way they have been for the last 14 months, a playoff appearance will likely be in the cards in Halifax.
